I Has Fridge Compressor But No Skillz

[POLAND_SPUD]

Where would this be

most likely on top of it

can a fan really cool down the compressor

yes, to some extent the more flow the fan has the better... other options (such as immersing the compressor in oil) are usually much more complicated

is there really need to do so?

well you don't need a fan if the total time it is on is 15 minutes... but if you want to use it continuously for 30 minutes or more it will get very hot.. compressors generate a lot of heat and if it not disposed of it can damage the compressor itself

heat does not come from the motor only.. when you compress air it heats up due to compression heating..
the compressor has large mass (heavy casing & oil) and it can absorb quite a lot of heat for the first 15 minutes or so... but after that it becomes a problem

ideally you would like to have fins welded or soldered to the case... as in this example..
http://www.jun-air.dk/graphics/pdf/data ... 3motor.pdf

more area = faster heat disipation

[MrCrowley]

Thanks for the diagram. As for a reservoir, I'm thinking about it but the closest thing I have that can take the pressures is probably a 350g Soda Stream bottle haha. I'm looking out for some stuff online though.

It's hard to see how an externally mounted fan could cool the compressor. I have a heatsink, about 15cm x 15cm big, would I be able to use that somehow?

Hopefully today I can go and get some parts, I have a whole list of places to go to because I'm not really sure which place will help me the most and offer me the best prices.

I love the compressor so much; its gentle hum, its hard body...

[POLAND_SPUD]

I ordered a 4 L tank rated to 200bar for mine it should arrive any day now...
you must have seen that long pipe that I use now as the air reservoir (~8-9 L capacity) sure it's large and heavy but it served me well

however, you don't need very large capacity unless you want to build a semi or fullauto... even 3L would be good for a start.. but obviously the bigger the better


the biggest advantage of an air reservoir is that you don't have to constantly turn the compressor ON and OFF, but instead it runs continuously and all you have to do is to: fill -> load ammo -> fire -> fill again...

It's hard to see how an externally mounted fan could cool the compressor. I have a heatsink, about 15cm x 15cm big, would I be able to use that somehow

I was skeptical at first too.. but I noticed that the compressor got hotter if there was no wind.. then I added a fan and it worked as expected... but remember that you need a large fan to do the job... small fans will cool it but not as efficiently to allow for running it continuously


heat sinks might be useful but it's difficult to mount them.. and you need something that conducts heat pretty good... you might give it a try and report results.. maybe you'll have better luck

[c11man]

here is some pics of how i mounted my way oversize cooling fan.

<a href="http://s696.photobucket.com/albums/vv32 ... 0_9291.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv32 ... 0_9291.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
showing the size
<a href="http://s696.photobucket.com/albums/vv32 ... 0_9288.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv32 ... 0_9288.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
and my custom mounting plate

it keeps it very cool and i hardly ever have to stop to let it cool

[POLAND_SPUD]

wow that's impressive... I have to admit that I haven't added a fan on the newest compressor yet

I am considering housing the compressor itself in some sort of a case, similar to PC cases (in a way that there are vent holes and a fan built in them) so that even a relatively small fan could be used efficiently

that really makes sense if you want to add more compressors... no need for having several fans, each for a compressor... keep them all in a box and put a large fan on it

now if you think of it it makes sense... most of the costs are fittings, gauges, relief valves etc. but you only need to assemble one unit and then you can gradually add more and more compressors to it

I know it's pretty obvious and that I mentioned it before.. but I just wanted to show there are some great ideas that can be used

[c11man]

yeah that fan is quite the beast. its a 20 watt and it funny cuz it slows down when the compressor bogs down. and i think i had boughten the fan it would have cost more than what i paid for the compressor....

[MrCrowley]

Took about 15min for my compressor to get hot, doesn't look like there's a way to mount the heatsink effectively either. Only fan I have is rated for 12v, perhaps I can find a phone charger or something so I can make the fan run off mains power. I've also ben thinking about an enclosure for it as I would think a fan would be fairly inefficient if I strapped it to the compressor like with c11man's.

edit:
Wired some adapter that dropped voltage to 12v and current to .5 amps to the 120mm fan. Works surprisingly well. Left the fan and fridge compressor on for an hour and the compressor was only warm. You were right POLAND haha.

edit: Today I took apart the cellphone charger/transformer put it in a project box and wired it to the fridge compressor so now the fan not only runs of the mains but uses the same plug/cord as the fridge compressor. Before I had it wired separately.

Tomorrow i'll look for a mains switch that can handle 240v so I don't have to turn off the fridge compressor at the wall and I'll look for some sort of enclosure for it. I wont get to buy any hoses/compression fittings until Friday.

[MrCrowley]

Added a switch. Here are some photos...

[POLAND_SPUD]

Left the fan and fridge compressor on for an hour and the compressor was only warm

yeah, though don't don't forget that it would generate more heat when it really compresses air. due to compression heating

[MrCrowley]

Yeah thought about that and figured if I sort an enclosure out perhaps it will counter that a little bit since the fan will be far more efficient. Did you have any ideas/plans about an enclosure for yours? Just thinking of materials, vents, fans, etc...

[POLAND_SPUD]

I don't know yet but probably I'll use some sort of a large bucket or a drum/barrel (not 55 gal drum but one more less the size of a keg)

ohh and I have a large fan removed from an old car... nothing fancy but I guess it's at least 70W

so I am thinking more in terms how to build one unit and use one fan for more than just 1 compressor... though I think that a small bucket could work pretty well too

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

Iheat sinks might be useful but it's difficult to mount them.. and you need something that conducts heat pretty good... you might give it a try and report results.. maybe you'll have better luck

Thermal paste have a rummage through electrical junk, heat sinks and cooling fans are easy to come by.

This my ghetto cooling setup on my PC I had to resort to last summer



I since got a proper oversized CPU fan and radiator though

[POLAND_SPUD]

@JSR
you really deserve the ghetto award

Thermal paste

It costs a lot and comes in small tubes... you're going to need a lot of it when you want to attach curved surface (compressor casing) to a radiator

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

you really deserve the ghetto award

I have one of these blighters now

It costs a lot and comes in small tubes... you're going to need a lot of it when you want to attach curved surface (compressor casing) to a radiator

Here's a thought, curved alumium plate that attaches to the casing to which you can bolt on all the scrap heat sinks you can get your hands on. Another option would be to wrap the casing in thin copper tube and get yourself a cheap 12v water pump

[Crna Legija]

could you use the radiator from the fridge and the water pump and the fan

i wont use myn lots only when i go camping my guns to loud at 150 psi let at alone at 350